Lil Durk Murder-for-Hire Trial: Ex-Assistant Testifies on Rapper's Reaction to 2022 Killing

A former assistant to rapper Lil Durk told jurors Tuesday that Banks reacted to a 2022 fatal shooting by saying "Finally, we got somebody." Banks denies ordering the hit.

Ex-Assistant Takes Stand in Lil Durk Murder-for-Hire Case

Lil Durk's former personal assistant testified before a Los Angeles jury Tuesday that the Grammy-winning rapper's reaction upon learning that a 2022 shooting had left a young man dead was: "Finally, we got somebody." Courthouse News Service reports that the testimony came as federal prosecutors work to establish that the rapper — whose legal name is Durk Banks — directed a murder-for-hire operation targeting a rival.

Banks has denied any involvement in the killing and has sought to pin responsibility on his former right-hand man, Kavon Grant.

The Shooting at a West Hollywood Gas Station

Three masked gunmen opened fire on a car belonging to rapper Quando Rondo at a West Hollywood gas station in 2022, spraying the vehicle with 18 bullets. Rondo was not struck, but his 24-year-old cousin, Saviayah Robinson, was killed.

Prosecutors say Banks and members of OTF — short for Only the Family, described as both a record label and a criminal street gang — felt obligated to retaliate against Rondo, whom they hold responsible for the 2020 murder of Banks' close friend, rapper King Von. Banks made his intentions explicit in multiple songs, according to the government. In one, he rapped: "If you can't get the main n—a then you better get his guy."

Assistant U.S. Attorney Ian Yanniello pressed Grant directly on that lyric. "That's what you did in LA, right?" Yanniello asked. "Accidentally, yes," Grant replied.

Grant's Account of the Days Leading Up to the Shooting

Grant, who served as Banks' personal assistant for several years, testified that he was in phone contact with Banks multiple times during the two days the shooters spent in Los Angeles tracking Rondo's movements. On one call, Grant said he raised concerns about the operation's lack of discipline.

"We moving sloppy so far," Grant told Banks, according to his testimony. "It's not really planned. It's like a free-for-all."

After the shooting — and after the other participants had flown back to Chicago — Grant said he took an Uber to Banks' rental house in Encino and briefed him on what had happened. Banks asked, "Do you think we got him?" Grant said he answered: "I didn't know, I wasn't there. But it didn't feel good. They did it in the middle of Beverly Hills. That's not normal, to kill someone."

FBI Investigation and Grant's Break from Banks

Weeks after the shooting, Banks learned that FBI agents had interviewed employees at a car rental business that Grant had used to secure one of the vehicles involved. Grant told the jury he was alarmed by the development, but Banks brushed off his concerns, telling him he was "overthinking" things.

That response prompted Grant to pull back. "I decided to distance myself from Durk," he testified. "I felt he didn't take it seriously, what we did." Grant began working remotely from Chicago, and Banks eventually fired him.

Defense Attacks Grant's Credibility

During cross-examination, Banks' attorney Drew Findling — who has built a reputation representing prominent hip-hop artists — sought to undermine Grant's credibility by playing recordings of Grant's jailhouse phone calls. In one, Grant referred to his upcoming court appearance as his "time to perform." In another, he appeared to joke that he would testify Banks had taken advantage of him. "You gotta make it sound good," Grant told a friend on the call, who laughed in response.

Grant pushed back throughout the cross-examination, insisting, "I've been truthful." He yawned several times while on the stand, drawing a sarcastic remark from Findling: "Sorry we're keeping you up." Grant explained he had been awake since three in the morning. When Findling noted he had also been up that early, Grant drew a sharp distinction. "I don't get to go back to a hotel like you," said Grant, who remains in federal custody awaiting sentencing.

Findling also suggested Grant had shaped his testimony to win a lighter sentence. He played footage from a law enforcement interview in which Grant asked whether he might serve his sentence at home. An FBI agent told him that was unlikely. "You were hoping for home confinement," Findling said. "Same as your client," Grant shot back.

Trial Expected to Conclude Next Week

Grant is scheduled to return to the stand Wednesday morning for additional cross-examination by defense attorneys representing co-defendants Wilson and Lindsey. The trial is expected to conclude sometime next week.

Source: Courthouse News Service